Tales of Her Father
by Queen-of-the-Merry-Men
Summary: A drabble series. Sara Robin Locksely's father died when she was only a few days old. Unable to meet him herself she learns about him through the tales told to her by his friends, his enemies, her family and the love his life, her mother Regina. Trigger warning: major character death (Robin).
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Just so we're clear. This is peanut friendly space. These stories are built around his canon daughter "with" Zelena. If you're here to spew hate at that tiny little character please just leave right now.**_

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"Brown eyes or blue?"

Regina smiled as she ran her fingers through Sara's hair. "Beautiful, beautiful blue." She kisses the top of her daughter's head. "Just like yours."

It had become a daily ritual for them these past few months. Every night, after a bath and pajamas, Sara would sit between her legs and let her mother braid her hair before bed. As her mother wrangled her fiery red locks into two French plaits she would question her about every detail of her father. How he looked, how he talked, what things made him laugh. She wanted to know everything, even the things she'd heard before.

It had started a few days before father's day. Regina had gotten a phone call from the school. Sara had refused to come out of the bathroom, crying about how all the other kids could make cards for their dads but she couldn't because she didn't have one. Even with magic Regina still felt like she couldn't get there fast enough. She'd taken Sara out of school early that day, her daughter's tears seeping into the shoulder of her silk blouse as she carried her out to the car. They didn't go home though. Instead, as if on autopilot, she'd driven straight to the cemetery. With Sara's little hand wrapped tightly into her own, she'd introduced her daughter to her father, or at least what was left of him. One large marble headstone with his name carved into it. Helping a five-year old understand the concept of death was not an easy task but she'd muddled through as best as she could. She tried to explain to Sara that she had a father just like everyone else did, that he loved her always but he just couldn't be there to show it, even though he really would like to be. Between the two of them more than a few tears were shed but her precocious little girl had understood. And the next day they'd returned so Sara could bring her father his father's day card.

Ever since then Sara had developed a healthy curiosity about Robin. Wanting to know all about him and asking anyone who knew just what he was like. Still no one in town knew more than her mother. So every night she would crawl into her mother's lap and fire off question after question. At first it was painful. Even after five years talking about Robin still had a way of making her heart feel heavy, but when she saw the way her daughter's eyes lit up in amazement with every new fact she learned about her father she felt her heart grow lighter. Soon talking about Robin with Sara became her favorite part of the day. Lying in bed with her daughter and recounting every tale of his charm, heroism and kindness stitched together pieces of her heart that she'd forgotten were ripped. Remembering him so Sara could know him made it less painful.

"Did he like apples?" Sara asked, chomping on her nighttime snack of green apples and peanut butter.

"He loved apples," Regina whispered playfully. "If you promised him a slice of apple pie he would do almost anything you asked."

A smile tugged on her lips as she remembered their time in the missing year, how everyone else had been too afraid to eat the apples at breakfast, the legend of her curse making them practically untouchable but Robin had bravely taken one every morning, making sure that she'd seen every time. "Not even your curses will keep me from these apples," he'd said to her, a smirk on his face. She'd sneered and rolled her eyes at him but she'd admired his boldness, not that she'd ever told him so.

Sara hummed happily as she took another bite of her apple slices. "Was he smart?"

"Very."

"Kind?"

"The kindest man you'd ever meet," she said wistfully. "Your father never met a person he didn't want to help."

Sara went suddenly went quiet and even though Regina couldn't see her she knew her daughter was biting her bottom lip anxiously. She rubbed her shoulders comfortingly. "Sara?"

"Would he have liked me?"

The question made Regina's heart skip a beat. "Of course he would sweetheart."

Sara turned to face her, her blue eyes blazing with uncertainty. "Are you sure?"

A surprised breath escaped her as she comfortingly ran her hands over her daughter's shoulders. "Honey," she softly drawled, "your father would've loved you from the tips of your toes to the ends of your hair. Every freckle, every curl, he wouldn't have changed a thing."

In her heart she knew her words were true. Robin would've loved Sara and not just because she was his daughter. Sara was kind and adventurous. She saw the world and the people in it as the best version of themselves and fought without hesitation when anything tried to prove her wrong. She was everything Robin would've wanted not just in a daughter but in a friend. Most days Regina would get wistful thinking of the good times they would've had together.

A smile grew on Sara's face. "Am I anything like he was?"

Regina grinned as she tucked a rebellious lock of Sara's hair behind her ear. "You, Sara Robin Locksely, have all the best pieces of your father. You have his kindness, his eyes, his spirit. And you grow more like him every day."

It was true. Every once in a while Sara would display a new piece of herself that was very "Robin" that Regina was certain it couldn't have come from anyone but her father. A lift in her eyebrows, a spring in her step or a tilt of her head. Sara might've inherited her sister's red hair and angular nose but her spirit was all Robin. You could see it in the way she walked and the way she talked. The things that she believed in. Sometimes she was so much like her father it made Regina's heart stop.

Sara smiled satisfied by her mother's answer. Pushing aside what was left of her apple slices she leaned further into her mother's arms and Regina held her tight as she leaned against her headboard with a sigh. After a moment's silence her little girl whispered, "Tell me your story again. The one with the pixie dust."

"Okay," chuckled Regina. Sara cuddled closer to her mother's side and hummed contently as Regina slowly began to speak. "Once upon a time there was a sad and lonely queen…"

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	2. Chapter 2

_**Roland passes down a family tradition to Sara.**_

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As quietly as he could Roland tiptoed down the mansion hall. The carpet was soft making his footsteps nearly silent, yet he still held his breath as he passed Henry and Regina's room. He knew that neither of them would be pleased to see him out of his bed so late. He'd spent the night at the mansion before when his father had taken him but now that his father was gone he spent all his nights there under Regina's watchful eye. She'd put him to bed hours ago but like he'd done every night for the past three weeks he'd waited until the house grew silent and he knew that she and Henry were sleeping before slipping out of his room and heading down the hall to his sister Sara's.

It was still strange to think. _His sister._ Less than a month ago he'd had a father but no sister. Now he had a sister but no father. The adults tried their best to explain to him why that was but it only served to confuse him further. In the end he'd learned to just accept that Sara was now here and his father wasn't.

Trying to remain as silent as possible he slipped into her nursery. It was still a little bare. No more than a new crib and dresser were in the room. Regina had said that one day when there was time she and Roland would decorate the nursery together. Fill it with things that would make his new baby sister smile and laugh. That day hadn't come yet.

Stepping up onto the stool beside her bassinet he peered down to look at her. She was a small thing his baby sister. Hardly bigger than that plaything Henry told him was called a football. Her skin was soft and pale but her hair, what little she had anyway, was flame red and curly. Like most nights when he snuck into her room she was awake. Silently lying on her back as if waiting for the moment when he would come to see her. He smiled down at her and saw her eyes light up in return. She was happy to see him. Good.

As carefully as he could he lifted her up into his arms making sure to protect her head just like Henry had taught him. She gurgled a bit and Roland quietly shushed her, hoping she wouldn't wake up Regina with one of her crying bouts. To his relief Sara remained silent only reaching up toward his face curiously.

With soft steps he carried her downstairs, carefully taking each step one at a time so he wouldn't trip. He took her through the kitchen and out the door, to the backyard where, like he'd done every night for the past three weeks he sat in the grass with his sister under the open sky. Tilting his head up toward the stars he searched for the three small lights that signaled Orion's Belt and pointed them out to her.

"Look Sara," he whispered gently. "There's Orion's Belt."

His little sister only blinked in response but in his heart he knew she'd understood him. One by one he pointed out all the constellations he knew, or at least the ones he could remember, and showed them to her. Orion, Hercules, Leo and Lyra. Every night he pointed them out to her.

He looked down at her once he was finished. "When Papa was here he used to teach me the stars."

His heart started to hurt as he whispered to her about the nights he and his Papa used to spend lying on their backs beneath the sky. He whispered to her about the way he'd point out the stars and tell him their stories. Reminding him that as long as he could read the sky he could never be lost. It made his heart hurt to think that he'd never have nights like that with his Papa again and like he'd had so many times in the past month he felt his eyes begin to burn with the need to cry. He didn't cry though. Instead he blinked back his tears and smiled down at his baby sister.

"If Papa was here he'd teach you the stars," he whispered. "But he's gone. So I'll teach them to you instead. That way you'll never be lost."

He pressed a kiss to her forehead after his promise. His father had known all the stars in the sky. So for weeks after his father's death he snuck Sara out into the yard to make sure that she did too. And he continued to do so until he and Regina finally got the chance to decorate Sara's room.

The first thing she'd decided to add?

A skylight.

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